I have now tried Virtual Reality and it is amazing

Main > Everything Else

<< < (254/262) > >>

RandyT:
Looks like PSVR2 on PC with the new adapter is, at least initially, a hit. The reviews have been about 95% positive.

Sony underestimated the demand and actually ran out of stock on the adapters. Then the scalping started (I'm not for overlegislation, but this anti-consumer and economy crushing practice needs to be ended). But they can currently be found again at some retail outlets for the correct price of $60, so hopefully the extortionists who firewalled the first batch of them will take an "L". *edit*: It turns out that the adapter essentially creates an external Virtual Link in a box. If your GPU already has one of these, then supposedly only the PSVR2 app is required to get the headset working. The only gotcha with that is the 2080ti is the last card which had one before it was abandoned, and that's only on par with an RTX 3070/4060ti in performance. But still a good thing to know if someone is still rocking a GPU with that port on it.

Reports are that the tracking is spot on, which bodes well. The binocular crossover is supposed to be very good and of course the deep blacks and bright, vibrant colors of the OLED are getting their due praise. I still wish it wasn't pentile, but an OLED display of much higher resolution than the old Odyssey headsets (also pentile OLED) should be pretty nice. Everyone comments about the mura that's visible from the diffuser, but most say that it's only really there on plain, blank surfaces, and everyplace else it's not noticeable unless really looking for it. Direct DP connection with 120hz refresh and no compression is also a big plus. Cost adding negatives are that no DP 1.4 cable is included with the adapter and compatible Bluetooth is required for the controllers.

Everyone with a Quest3 who also have a PSVR2 with the adapter, seem to say that they prefer the PSVR2, even though the lenses aren't as good and the image isn't as sharp. The consensus seems to be that everything else it offers, OLED, "plug and play" Steam wired usability and no compression/lag, makes it a much better PC-connected VR experience. As an aside, people have reportedly also already been able to make it work with the Vive/Index controllers.

I suspect I will be able to give some first-hand impressions compared to a Reverb G2 at some point if anyone is interested. I'm a sucker for OLED displays in VR headsets and I'm not shelling out for the high-end :).

RandyT:
I have to post this whether anyone is interested or not :D.

I picked up a pristine PSVR2 for $50 less than they were selling for during the recent "stock reduction" sale, which had the kits priced at $350. The first thing I did was play Aircar (one of my favorite "chill" experiences) with 1.25x oversampling and 120hz on the PSVR2. I have to say, it is absolutely amazing. The OLED really is fantastic. The dark scenery, with the bright neon lighting actually looking like lighting, is a sight to behold. Items in the distance are not perfectly sharp, but 10X better than the old OLED headsets. If those older units looked like this, I would have looked no further.

Pinball in VR is great as well. No lag whatsoever (which would have killed it) and enough resolution and contrast between playfields and lighting to make it a very believable experience at the normal viewing distance above the machine.

I also put a couple of hours into Alyx from the beginning. That first outdoor scene felt like the first time I saw it as it was intended. The G2 LCD is so washed out by comparison, it just isn't able to convey the depth of the cityscape and the contrasting brightness of the daytime environment. The little critter in the glass jar is jaw-dropping in the PSVR2. In the G2, you kinda just get the feel that the green light on it's face was glowing, but in the PSVR2, the color and brightness is so intense that it feels like looking at an actual light source. This would be bad if it drowned out the surrounding detail of the creature, but it doesn't. Every shadow and detail around it remains very well represented. And when that huge machine came crashing past, it gave me chills. The dark areas where you need a flashlight to see anything are pitch-black and the laser sight on the shotgun looks like a real laser. The "dark-gray blacks" of the G2's LCD killed any sense of actually being in those environments. Even with the slightly softer imagery of the PSVR2, the added depth and contrast of the image brings out detail and a sense of immersion that didn't seem to be possible on the G2, even though the G2 has a slightly higher resolution on it's RGB stripe LCDs. FOV is also noticeably better on the PSVR2.

The mura people have complained about is there, but you need to look for it. My brain tuned it out, just like it would an ultra-fine bit of dust on a car windshield. I.e. it's something you just don't see when focusing on the games as, unlike compression artifacting, it exists at a different perceived focal plane from the environments. For that, SDE is virtually non-existent, but my farsightedness probably helps a bit there as well. I have to chuckle when I see the Meta-bots making more of this than it is. If they can't look past the nearly imperceptible effect, they would be dangerous on the road with anything but a pristine windshield (who am I kidding, they don't own a car :D )

Out of the box comfort (at least for me) is only rivaled by the original PSVR, although both are very similar. The rest don't really come close. It's very light without feeling cheap. People have complained about the lack of audio, but the included earbuds are not cheapies and honestly provide better sound than most headset on-board audio can. But the G2 comes pretty close...when those are working. Somehow, Sony managed to get 3D audio into earbuds that actually works. I could easily pinpoint where something was happening only based on audio cues.

Tracking is extremely good, with some caveats below. The controllers have capacitive sensors on several (all?) of the buttons and they are supported in Steam. The fancy haptics are only on the PS5, and they are not as gimmicky as I thought they would be. On the PS5, the StarWars demo showcased the trigger resistance/feedback admirably, and RE:Village has scenes where the player takes knocks to the head. It surprised the hell out of me when that is where I felt it :) . The eye-tracking on the PS5 is scarily accurate.

Negatives:

The PC setup, as you might expect, is not as polished out-of-the-gate as the experience is on the PS5. Everything just works perfectly on the console, as would be expected. The recommended BT adapter (TPLink UB500) needs to use the "beta" driver ending in 3001. I didn't use it at first and had my right controller freezing in space for a few seconds every 5 minutes or so. Played for a couple hours last night with the proper driver and nothing but perfection. The other issue is one that only previous users of WindowsMR headsets will likely encounter. Apparently, the setup software relies on some OpenXR stuff in Steam that gets assigned to WindowsMR. I had to go to Reddit to find the solution, which is to re-assign it to SteamVR in order to complete the room setup. Sony needs to put this in a troubleshooting guide, or update the software to change this setting (but then WMR will break and the user won't know why, so :dunno. )

The fresnel lenses are best-in-class, but they are still fresnel. The sweet-spot is larger than other fresnel lenses, but you still need to adjust on occasion for a perfect image, or invest in an aftermarket strap which I understand will help to lock in your eye position during and between sessions

You only get ~4-hours out of the controllers, but they recharge quickly. Honestly, if you are in VR longer than that at a sitting, you probably have bigger issues :) . While the eye-tracking will likely never be implemented on the PC due to licensing issues and the encrypted data the module produces, there's no reason not to expect that the advanced haptics and trigger functions won't at some point be supported on PC. They aren't now, but that would need to be added to Steam and every individual game for that to work anyway.

Pass-through is grainy B&W, but in stereo. So no AR experiences. Honestly, I couldn't care less about that, but some might.

Conclusion:

Visually, it's the best headset I own (and I own 6). Tracking is better than WMR, and once sorted for the PC installation, is on par with the best inside out tracking. Sony obviously made a lot of cost VS benefit decisions when designing this unit to meet a price point, and I think they did a great job. I have no doubts that they could have made an absolutely incredible $1200 VR device, which seems to be what the complainers want, without having to pay for it. Case in point is the PC (Virtual Link) adapter. A similar box from Varjo lists for $229. Sony cranks it out for $60 and people complain about it not including a DP 1.4 cable and Bluetooth ::) . That aside, I think we are also at a point where anything more than what the PSVR2 provides, will need more GPU than is, or is likely to be available to mere mortals for some time to come. Even an RTX 3090 gets stressed out when it tries to get everything possible from the displays on this unit, and there is still more to be had, as evidenced by how much sharper things appear when supersampling less demanding titles. But unless you have an extra $2.5k laying around for a 5090, you won't see it.

IMHO, for the money, and despite Zuck's army of Meta-bots (probably AI at this point) saying otherwise, it's currently the best PC connected VR experience out there at anywhere near this price point. It actually makes me want to play VR again.

pbj:
I cannot rustle any enthusiasm for a PS5 or this headset. Surprised to hear it has eye tracking but we knew that was going to be obtainable some day.

Some day.

RandyT:

--- Quote from: pbj on September 28, 2024, 08:49:19 pm ---I cannot rustle any enthusiasm for a PS5 or this headset. Surprised to hear it has eye tracking but we knew that was going to be obtainable some day.

Some day.

--- End quote ---

Why not? Did you ever get a new VR headset after the original PSVR? If not, this is certainly a good one. The PS5 is pretty sweet as well, if you like console gaming, but personally I would always go with the model which has a media slot. If they get rid of that, it'll probably be the last console I ever buy.

fallacy:

This is what I am talking about. I can't wait until we have Augmented Reality in a pair of glasses, complete with eye tracking, AI, internet access and now this EMG wristband control.

Navigation

 Message Index

Go to full version